CCSD Announces New Start Times to Maximize Student Learning

As the Clark County School District (CCSD) partners with the community to become the Destination District, we are committed to making data-driven decisions that put student achievement first. 

To maximize learning at every grade level, CCSD announced a strategic realignment of school start times for the 2026–2027 school year.

New school times will generally be at the following times and will take effect for the 2026-2027 school year:

Middle school Start Times: 7:30 a.m.

High School Start Times: 8:30 a.m.

Elementary School Start Times: 9:15 a.m.

“The new school start times better align with the sleep needs of high school students,” said CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert. “Research shows that later start times for high school students lead to more sleep, reduced anxiety, and greater alertness, which in turn improve attendance, standardized test scores, and graduation rates.”

Ebert noted that CCSD must stagger school start times because the district operates the nation’s largest district-owned school bus fleet, servicing 31,000 stops daily. 

Starting all schools simultaneously would require CCSD to triple our fleet at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars—funds CCSD believes belong in the classroom. By staggering start times, CCSD maximizes our resources and our ability to ensure that over 120,000 students a day arrive at school safely.

Revised school start times will be posted on ccsd.net and individual school websites in April 2026, and eligible bus riders will receive a Parentlink message in July 2026 with steps to access the bus routing information.

Community members can learn more with the following resources:

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary of Research on School Start Times